Graeme wrote:Hi Guys,
Just to let you know only 24 hours left on the early bird.

How close are you to the goal/making it happen?

At the moment we are quite a bit away. We need between 150 and 160 backers, and we currently have 8. We have a long way to go yet, the campaign ends on the 4th of April, and I can extend it if I need to get a few more backers to reach the goal. If we cannot reach the goal then everyone who has backed will get their money refunded and the SEA-02 will not go into production. But we are not there yet, and we have lots of time left so there is still very much a possibility of reaching the target.

^ thanks for that info. I do wish you well with this. If I were able I'd jump in, but now isn't the time for me.

I understand the desire for this type of campaign because surely it is costly to launch a new model. That said, it's so much easier to part with ones money when there is a product to be received in days.

andrema wrote:Man...a long ways off. Is there a prototype of the watch?

I'm hoping that this one makes it, it is a great looking model!

No there is no prototype yet. It's a bit catch 22, the problem is I need to start production before I can get a prototype, and I need the funds to start production.

The majority of other kickstarter / indiegogo campaigns are using catalogue cases so it is easy to get a sample prototype. But I am making everything from scratch from numerous suppliers so it's a little bit harder.

Graeme wrote:Hi Guys,
Well unfortunately the campaign did not go too well We failed to reach our target so the SEA-02 will not go ahead now.

It was quite disappointing and a but we will learn from it.

Thank you all for your support and help

Graeme.

I am going to delete the other threads regarding the campaign to avoid any confusion.

Any plans to still produce it?

If I may...

Indiegogo was a poor choice, especially for watch campaigns.

Yes on Kickstarter you need a prototype but there are brands with successful campaigns that were not using catalog parts.

Unfortunately it is a massively crowded market these days and to have a successful KS campaign you need to do marketing for at least 3 months before the campaign. Most brands are using marketing companies to help with this, and I know it is expensive, and they do not see a big profit from the campaign but it helps get them exposure. From what I am told, they use it as a stepping stone, and not to make money.

The design is great and so was price, but might be too expensive for the crowdfunding market.

Possibly better to try and get your name out there more on social media in the next few months (Instagram, Facebook groups, etc) and then maybe do a preorder for half price deposit with the rest due before delivery?

There are no plans right at this moment to produce it, I just don't have the funds hence the campaign.

I did spend a small fortune on a range of different marketing companies, but to be honest now I believe that a lot of those marketing companies are full of it. The figures just don't add up. I need to research this a lot more if I do this again.

Kickstarter was the first choice, but the lack of a prototype is what sank that. It was not possible for me to get a prototype without starting production, and I didn't want to simply make a 3D printed model as it just isn't good enough. The other thing to consider was if I did manage to talk my case maker into a prototype and then not go ahead with production, it would not have gone down well at all

You are right about exposure, I do need to get out on Insta-Twit-Face more, I also need to take more photos.

But you know, this was my first fundraising campaign and it was a great learning experience, so I will take this as a school day and be better prepared next time